1.0 Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for connecting the public telephone network to the Internet, by dialing a number for obtaining a connection.
2.0 Description of the Related Art
Such a method is known from the publication: “Computer Communications” XP00413222. On page 1421—right column—it is remarked: “In the case of a dial-up lines, the number (usually assigned by the computer center for setting up the host) needs to be dialed for connection . . . ”
So it is the Internet Service Provider—ISP—, who decides where its calling points—which can be indicated as POP'S: Points of Presence—can be positioned and who will take care for the installation of normal telephone-connections to these PoP's.
In case of the relatively small numbers of incall-connections, as in the early days of the Internet, the public telephone network—(PSTN: Public Switched Telephony Network)—could easily take care for obtaining the desired connection.
This known method, however, has caused serious problems for the public telephone network by the increased number of requested connections with the Internet.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,464 it is known to use a special number sequence to obtain billing information. Obviously this concerns a totally different problem than obtaining a connection with the Internet.
For explanation of the usual system we refer to the enclosed FIG. 1 in which “nrc 1–4” represent the number telephone exchanges and vkc represent traffic telephone exchanges. The designation ISP was already explained above. Subscribers are connected to a number telephone exchange. There, the registration of the calls takes place, which forms the basis for invoicing. A number telephone exchange covers a limited area, in which the areas do not overlap. The traffic telephone exchanges are for connecting subscribers that are connected to different number telephone exchanges.
The dialing code is important for invoicing. A number area is a collection of adjacent telephone exchange areas all having the same dialing code. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, it has been assumed that a dialing code area only contains one telephone exchange area. For invoicing, one employs the term basic area. The basic area is the dialing code area of the user plus all immediately adjacent dialing code areas. With the diagram of FIG. 1, it can be assumed, that the area nrc1 is adjacent nrc2 and nrc4. A conversation between nrc3 and nrc4 will be seen as a conversation within the basic area and a conversation between nrc1 and nrc3 will be seen as a conversation outside the basic area. It is clear that a conversation between nrc3 and nrc4 will be more expensive for the network operator (NO) than a conversation between nrc1 and nrc3. However, this is tolerated. The user only looks at the distance “in a straight line” and for the NO, the shortage of income on the conversations between nrc3 and nrc4 is compensated by the extra profits coming from the conversations between nrc1 and nrc3.
However, the latter does not apply to Internet traffic. A calling point of an ISP in nrc3 is called from the areas nrc2, nrc3 and nrc4, but not from nrc1. For the latter, a different calling point has been arranged. In all, an ISP in the Netherlands needs 26 calling points for national coverage.
Such a system has a number of disadvantages:
a) the NO must provide services at a low rate, even if the traffic is handled as interlocal traffic;
b) Internet traffic in which the user and the ISP are connected to two different NOs involves much costs and little profits.
c) Internet traffic can not be distinguished from the other traffic, as a result of which the trend determination Can not be established directly from traffic measurements, which makes network planning for the NO more difficult;
d) Internet traffic is difficult to predict and in case of overload or failure of a calling location, a domino effect may occur, as will be explained further;
e) it is necessary to have a large number of calling points for obtaining national coverage, this also in the areas where little traffic is to be expected;
f) all calling points must have a number of their own and those numbers must he communicated to the users;
g) combining the common telephone costs and the Internet costs is very expensive and is therefore hardly applied.
The domino effect could arise as follows. A user in Almere can gain access to his ISP at a local rate in Lelystad, Amersfoort or Amsterdam.
Now if the calling point Lelystad can not be contacted as result of a failure, a number of users will contact Amersfoort and others will contact Amsterdam. There, this may give rise to difficulties, so that users from Amsterdam or Hoofddorp will contact Haarlem, for example. This causes an extra loading of the network between various telephone exchanges and extra loading at the calling points. This results in the so-called domino effect as a result of which the ISP may become inapproachable and congestion will arise in the telephone exchange.